Many high quality microscopes for scientific laboratories and the like are sold with a manual stage having rotary control members which allow the user to move the microscope stage, thereby moving a sample relative to the optical system. For some requirements, manual control of the stage is found to be the most convenient method. However, manufacturers also provide motorized stages which are mounted on the microscope in place of the manual stage and incorporate computer controlled motors, allowing the stage to be controlled from the computer. This is desirable for some uses (such as to allow a sample to be inspected at randomly chosen positions). However, motorized stages are expensive (typically as expensive as the microscope itself) and render the microscope unusable for manual control, unless the motorized stage is replaced with a manual stage.